Kim Jongdae's mind swirled in darkness as he felt something land on him every few seconds. He was paralyzed, unable to open his eyes to see what was going on, to see what was being thrown at him. He faintly registered the sound of someone crying, then a noise that sounded like...

He'd just been assaulted by Chanyeol. Could it be? Was Park Chanyeol burying him alive?

The load atop Jongdae's chest significantly began to weigh down, making it difficult to breathe. He couldn't part his lips to speak, couldn't utter a single syllable, couldn't even move a fingertip. He was going to die; he was going to get buried alive. He desperately tried to make any movement, any sound.

'Why, Park Chanyeol? I thought we were best friends. We've known each other since we were in diapers. You, me, Baekhyun -- the Beagles,' Jongdae thought with a heart-clenching fear. 'It is because you love him too?'

~~~

Jongdae wandered alone in the empty hallways, searching for company, but he was alone. No one would be there at the school until school began again. He would be alone for a long time, or so he thought. He was in the library when one of his closest friends climbed through the window and found himself a seat. "Baekhyun," Jongdae called out, but his friend didn't hear him. "Hyung, can you hear me? Can you see me?" Baekhyun didn't react; he simply sat back in the chair and dozed off. Jongdae frowned, 'Why'd you come to sleep at the library? You're such an idiot.' Jongdae sat on the chair beside Baekhyun and watched his friend in silence.

Baekhyun muttered, "I wonder what happened to Jongdae..." He opened his eyes and took out his phone, placing it against his ear, "Where are you? No sign of him yet? Where do you think he disappeared to?"

"I'm right here!" Jongdae shouted in frustration, arms flailing.

"I'm at the school library, hurry up," Baekhyun hung up.

"Baekhyun..." Jongdae said sadly, reaching out to touch his friend's shoulder but his hand passed right through. "He killed me." Jongdae looked down and whispered, "He killed me."

Chanyeol came through the same window Baekhyun entered, "How long has Jongdae been gone?"

Jongdae narrowed his eyes at Chanyeol, "As if you don't know."

Chanyeol's eyes widened as they landed on Jongdae's, gasping and stumbling to the floor as he lost his footing. Confused, Baekhyun turned his head to see nothing, "Did you see a ghost or something?"

Quickly shaking his head, Chanyeol replied, "I just... I thought I saw him, but I guess I'm just wishing too hard."

'He sees me,' Jongdae realized, 'my murderer can see me.' Jongdae said quietly to Chanyeol, "Thought you got rid of me didn't you? Guess you were wrong."

"So, why the library?" Chanyeol looked around nervously.

"I don't know, we always hung out here. Maybe I was sort of hoping Jongdae was here sleeping somewhere."

Chanyeol flashed a quick smile, "Well, it seems like the only one sleeping here was you. We should get going, the sun's about to set."

"I'm starting to think you really did see a ghost," Baekhyun got up and stretched. He sighed heavily as he glanced at the time. The two humans made their way out the library out into the open; the ghost shadowing closely behind.

Although it was late in the evening, quite contrary to Chanyeol's previous statement the sun had yet to set. The summer breeze whipped the boys' faces, with the exception of the ghost, who felt nothing but hatred and sorrow. Chanyeol side-glanced to see the ghost of his dead friend. Attempting to ignore the figure, he stretched his arms up in the air, "So Baekhyun, where do you think he disappeared off to?"

Deep in thought, Baekhyun didn't reply at first. Lips pursed, hands in the pockets of his jacket, Baekhyun glanced up at the sky, "I honestly don't know. I'm worried though; it's not like him to ignore me."

"Maybe he just lost his phone," Chanyeol shrugged. Beads of perspiration began to form on his forehead. He removed his sweater, allowing the wind to envelope around his body to cool down his body temperature.

"Even his parents say he hasn't been home," Baekhyun continued, looking toward his good friend. "Aren't you worried?"

"Jongdae's smart, I'm sure he's taking care of himself wherever he is," Chanyeol replied, "but if his parents are worried too, then maybe he really is in trouble."

The ghost scoffed, "I never knew you were capable of this Park Chanyeol."

Baekhyun sighed, checking his phone for the hundredth time. Chanyeol gently touched Baekhyun's wrist, "I don't-"

"You two, wait!" a man in a police uniform approached. The boys stopped abruptly. Shaking his head, he asked, "Are you two students of this high school?"

"Yes, officer," Baekhyun replied.

"Do you know a Kim Jongdae?" the police officer asked. At the mention of their best friend's name, Baekhyun and Chanyeol quickly nodded.

"He's our best friend; we've been searching for him for days," Baekhyun replied anxiously.

Taking off his hat and pushing his dark hair back, the man released a small sigh, "I have unfortunate news regarding him." Baekhyun's heart skipped a beat, its weight seeming to double, even triple. If a police officer had unfortunate news about Kim Jongdae, that could only mean... "We've just recovered his body."

Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol froze.

"I'm sorry," the man continued, "not five minutes ago, we dug out his body. We have investigators working on it. Could you tell me more about your friend so we can figure out who killed him?"

Chanyeol swallowed a lump in his throat as he looked past Baekhyun to Jongdae. "They're going to find out," Jongdae said to him. Chanyeol furtively shook his head. The officer misunderstood Chanyeol's gesture as a result of the trauma of just hearing his best friend was found dead.

"Where did you find him?" Chanyeol finally whispered.

The officer announced, "He was buried beneath the soccer field at the high school."

'They really found him,' Chanyeol thought, the palms of his hands sweating.

Baekhyun buried his face in his hands, suppressing his overcoming grief, "No... no, no, no, no, no... this can't be..."

"Baekhyun, I'm right here," Jongdae whispered, attempting to comfort his friend but his hands made contact with nothing. He angrily turned to Chanyeol, shouting at the top of his lungs, "You bastard! How could you do this to me, to him, to my family?"

Chanyeol kept quiet, doing what Jongdae couldn't; tightly holding onto Baekhyun's shoulders, giving him a shoulder to cry on. He gently wrapped his arms around his friend, whispering, "It's okay, it's okay."

"I'm terribly sorry," the man bowed before placing his hat back on. He handed out a card to Chanyeol, "If you could tell more information about Jongdae, it will help." Chanyeol took the card, allowing a few tears to trickle down his cheeks. The man left shortly to where he came from.

"They're going to realize you're a murderer," Jongdae accused the tall young man.

Chanyeol shook his head and whispered softly, "No."

Jongdae asked, "You killed me because of Baekhyun, didn't you?"

Chanyeol kept silent, full of remorse. Baekhyun's voice was muffled as he cried out, "Who could have done such a thing? Jongdae never did anything wrong. He was the nicest person in the whole world..." Chanyeol patted his back, avoiding the ghost's intent stare.

Chanyeol had walked Baekhyun home and was heading to his own. Jongdae, however, wouldn't leave Chanyeol alone. Everywhere the murderer went the ghost followed like a shadow, like guilt. Chanyeol faced the ghost, "Please, stop following me."

"I can't believe you, Park Chanyeol," said the ghost. "Our whole lives we spent together and you just killed it."

"I don't know what overcame me," the human replied as he opened the front to his house. "I just really like Baekhyun."

"You didn't need to get rid of me," Jongdae flew into Chanyeol's bedroom, laying on the bed. When Chanyeol locked his bedroom door, Jongdae continued, "Did you need a reason to bring Baekhyun closer to you? Now you're a murderer, is that what you wanted?"

Chanyeol bit the insides of his cheeks, taking a seat on the floor. He ran his fingers over the bracelet the three Beagles wore -- that's what people called them, the Beagles. It was probably because they were so damn loud when they were together, no one could shut them up. "I didn't mean to kill you, I'm sorry."

"I don't want you near Baekhyun," the ghost stated flatly. "I don't trust his life in your hands."

"Well, you don't have much of a choice now do you?" Chanyeol closed his eyes, arms folded across his chest.

Jongdae said, "You can't push me away. I'll stay with you until the end." The end of what, Jongdae was unsure himself. "How could a murderer possibly love anyone? You're only going to hurt him."

Chanyeol's eyes flew open, slamming his fists against the floor, "I wouldn't hurt him, I wouldn't ever hurt Baekkie."

Jongdae shook his head adamantly, "You've already hurt him and I can't allow you to break his heart even more."

"What do you plan to do then? You're dead! No one can see or hear you," Chanyeol stood up and began pacing back and forth in his room. 'What did I get myself into?' Chanyeol thought dreadfully 'Because of my jealousy, I ended up killing one of my best friends...'

"You buried me alive," Jongdae whispered, "were you aware of that?"

Chanyeol's head shot up to look at his friend, eyes wide in alarm, "Alive?" He swallowed a lump in his throat, his body suddenly becoming weak, his head spinning. Taking deep breaths, he sat on the edge of his bed, tightly gripping onto the bedsheets. 'He was still alive?' Chanyeol began sobbing into his arms, "I-I-I di-didn't know..."

Jongdae felt some of Chanyeol's grief but forced them away. He wasn't going to put up with it; he was murdered because his friend couldn't accept the fact they both loved the same man -- Byun Baekhyun. With his thoughts on Baekkie, Jongdae told himself, 'I have to protect him. I can't let him fall for a murderer.'

~~~

Summer was coming to an end; school was starting... without Kim Jongdae. Baekhyun walked alongside his best friend, thankful for his support. Ever since the police found Jongdae's body, Chanyeol was there to comfort and take care of him. He kept the death of his good friend in the back of his mind, slowly moving on, but it was difficult. Thanks to Chanyeol's efforts, he could smile again. Chanyeol smiled down at Baekhyun, "Did you have a good night's rest?"

Baekkie shook his head slowly, "I couldn't sleep, too busy dreading school."

Chanyeol gasped in feign surprise, "Even after I sang to you?"

"Yeollie, honestly you don't have the best voice in the world," Baekhyun smirked, lightly punching Channie's shoulder before taking a seat.

"Well honestly," Chanyeol replied, sitting beside Baekkie, "my voice will never be as good as yours, but I'm not that terrible."

Baekhyun chuckled, "It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either..." Jongdae flashed into his mind and he thought, 'Not as great as Chen's voice.'

Jongdae entered and sat in front of Baekhyun and Chanyeol. The murderer tensed as the ghost flitted across his vision. 'Even after everything, he's still keeping it up,' Jongdae thought as he watched his two friends interact. Focusing his attention to Baekhyun, he thought, 'You don't know what Chanyeol did.'

"Is something wrong?" Baekhyun gently placed his hand atop Chanyeol's.

"If he knew, he wouldn't love you back," Jongdae whispered, eyeing their hands. "In fact, he'd despise you; he'd be so disgusted he'd never speak to you again."

Chanyeol didn't say a word as he stared straight back at the ghost. Every word that came out of Jongdae's lips cut him like a steel blade. He understood it was Jongdae's method of making him feel guilt and turning himself over, but he couldn't... wouldn't.

"Yeollie?" Baekhyun gave Chanyeol's hand a worried squeeze.

The teacher briefly glanced at their hands before turning his attention back to the board, "Mr. Byun and Mr. Park, I would highly appreciate it if you saved your affection towards one another someplace else other than in my classroom. Unless you'd like to relocate seats."

Embarrassed, Baekhyun dropped his hands to his sides and muttered a quiet apology. Chanyeol quickly replied to Baekhyun in a low voice and his famous grin, "I'm fine, don't worry."

Jongdae rolled his eyes, 'He's far from fine.'

Chanyeol glared at the ghost before opening his notebook and taking notes as quickly as he could while the teacher began droning on for today's history lesson.

The ghost hated every second of his life, of having to watch Channie with Baekkie; to see their smiles and witness their 'love' for another. With him out of the picture, Chanyeol had moved in fast. If the ghost had a heart, it would surely have shriveled and died the moment Baekhyun leaned in to kiss Chanyeol's cheek a few weeks ago.

'This isn't right,' Jongdae thought. He wanted to cry but he couldn't produce any tears. He wanted to feel happy for Baekhyun, but it was wrong. How could a murderer possess the capability to love?

"Can you move?" Chanyeol hissed at the ghost. Jongdae threw him a dirty look, folding his arms across his chest.

"Do you not regret killing me? Are you happy?" the ghost continued his rant.

Baekhyun eyed Chanyeol carefully, 'Who was he talking to? Something seemed off about him; I wonder if he's just nervous because it's the first day back at school and Jongdae wasn't here...' Baekhyun tapped Channie's shoulder, "Are you okay? You're kind of acting strange."

Channie quickly grinned, "Yeah, sorry."

Baekkie flashed him a smile that would surely have broken Jongdae's heart and made him cry a river. "If you're struggling with anything, you can talk to me. You were there for me, I will be here for you, got it?" At Chanyeol's nod, he added, "I love you."

"I love you, my bacon."

Unable to cry, the ghost left.

~~~

Ever since that day, the ghost did all he could to inject guilt into his murderer's conscience. He would stop at nothing; not like he had anything better to do, being dead and all. He couldn't leave to wherever it was that the dead went to, he was stuck as a ghost with his two-- no... with a murderer and a victim of love.

'What can I do to make you realize?' Jongdae thought as he turned away at the sight of Baekkie and Channie enjoying their lunch. 'How do I leave here? How am I supposed to protect you when he is the one that can see me?'

As the days passed, the pain of losing a close friend began to fade away into the back of Baekhyun's memory. He focused on the present, on himself and his relationship with Chanyeol. His friend was able to make him happy and laugh at the silliest of things instead of mourning about Jongdae. It depressed him that the killer wasn't found, there was no evidence of any sort. When he was lonely and had too much time to think, he'd picture himself torturing a faceless murderer, hot tears running down his face as he took vengeance on his best friend.

But that was the past. He was with Chanyeol now and surely Jongdae was in a better place. 'Yeah, he's watching over us now,' Baekhyun thought as he watched the young man sitting across him stuff his face with ramen. Lately, Baekhyun had noticed Chanyeol acting strange, like he was being haunted by something; some of Chanyeol's smiles never reached his eyes and it worried him. 'But Chanyeol wouldn't have done anything wrong, he's a good kid.'

Chanyeol stopped slurping his ramen and glanced at Baekhyun. After swallowing, he asked, "Aren't you hungry? You haven't touched your food."

Baekhyun shook his head, "I feel like someone's watching, it's weird."

Chanyeol froze, eyes flitting to the ghost beside them for a split second. "Well," Chanyeol said nervously, "why would people be watching us? We're just two guys eating lunch like everyone else."

Baekhyun sighed, picking up his chopsticks, "It makes me feel uneasy, like a bad omen. Maybe I'm just being paranoid... it has been almost a year..."

"Has it been a year all ready?" Jongdae asked in surprise. "You really won't give up, will you Park Chanyeol?"

With an angry sigh, Chanyeol tossed his lunch in the trash. To Baekhyun's surprised expression, Chanyeol replied, "I just lost my appetite."

Baekhyun reached out to touch Chanyeol's hand, "I'm sorry."

The ghost averted his gaze, wishing he could disappear. He couldn't take it anymore, couldn't stand seeing them together. "Damn it Chanyeol," he whispered, over and over, "damn you, damn me."

---

Baekhyun had convinced Chanyeol to visit their friend's grave. Chanyeol placed a small bouquet of flowers beside the tombstone.

"A murderer visiting his victim," Jongdae pursed his lips, "how interesting." The ghost moved closer to Chanyeol, "Doesn't it just kill you keeping it a secret? Don't you wish you could tell your... boyfriend? How would he react?"

Chanyeol tried his best to ignore his dead friend's words, focusing his attention on Baekhyun instead, who had taken his hand. Baekhyun looked up at him with a smile, "Did you want to say a few words to him?"

The taller man felt the familiar pang of guilt as he saw the innocence and purity in his boyfriend's smile, the smile that attracted him in the first place. Chanyeol looked down at the tombstone and cleared his throat, "Kim Jongdae... Chen... we knew each other for as long as we could remember. Umm..." Chanyeol chewed his lower lip, afraid to continue, not sure of what to say.

"Continue please," Jongdae pressed on, arms crossed, "I'd like to hear what you have to say."

"I hope you rest in peace," Chanyeol finished with a heavy sigh.

Baekhyun gave Chanyeol's hand an assuring squeeze. He organized his thoughts, starting with, "Hello Jongdae, how are you? I do hope you're doing all right wherever you are, that you won't forget us. I remember when you felt uncomfortable the first time I called you Jongdae instead of Chen. You don't know how special I felt when you allowed me to start calling you by your real name instead of your nickname. The three of us had some great times, didn't we? I'm a bit disappointed that we can't have anymore adventures..." Baekhyun stopped momentarily as he was on the verge of tears.

The guilt grew stronger.

Baekhyun finally continued, "I'm sad that we-- umm... we weren't able to spend our last year of high school together. We promised to be together forever, the three of us..." Baekhyun held out his wrist, looking down tearfully at the friendship bracelet. "When we made these and put them on, we made that promise... do you remember?"

Chanyeol swallowed hard, the guilt growing.

"I remember," Jongdae whispered wistfully.

Baekhyun released a nervous laugh as he wiped away a few tears, "I wonder what the three of us would be doing right now. I miss you." Baekhyun cried in Chanyeol's embrace.

'I can't do this... I can't...' Chanyeol's mind was a jumble. He wanted -- needed -- to tell someone, anyone. Seeing his love like this... he couldn't, he couldn't tell him or anyone about his sin. He would destroy his whole life by revealing to anyone about the murder. Baekhyun wouldn't see him the same way, no one would.

Chanyeol glanced at the ghost, tears springing from his eyes. The ghost couldn't rest, not until his murderer confessed. Then their victim would change the whole game. All of this was for Byun Baekhyun.

~~~

Despite Chanyeol's protests, Baekhyun came over with his backpack of things he'd need for the rest of the night and the next morning. The ghost made Chanyeol restless; the human was about ready to set himself on fire. Baekhyun was alarmed by Chanyeol's state of being -- the disheveled hair, the bloodshot eyes, the sloppy way he wore his clothes, the mess of his place. Baekhyun finally accepted the fact that something was terribly wrong with his Yeollie.

Baekhyun forced Chanyeol to sit in bed as he fed spoonfuls of hot soup to him. Chanyeol ended up just taking the bowl and chugging it all down. "Yah, Park Chanyeol!" Baekhyun shouted in alarm, fearful for his best friend. Chanyeol rested the empty bowl on his lap, wiping his lips with his shirt sleeve. Baekhyun quickly plucked the bowl away and set it aside.

"I can't do this anymore," Chanyeol shook his head. "I'm dying..."

"Tell me so I can help you," Baekhyun urged, scooting closer to the bed.

Chanyeol shook his head, "It's going to sound crazy."

"Are you really going to tell him? Is that the best idea?" Jongdae asked as he suddenly realized what Park Chanyeol was up to. The human looked the ghost in the eyes and nodded.

Chanyeol sighed heavily before speaking, eyes down cast, "It's about Chen." Baekhyun stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue. "It was me," Chanyeol whispered.

Baekhyun's eyes widened, "You? What do you mean?"

Chanyeol continued, "I killed him, I killed Jongdae. I thought I'd finished him off, but he was still alive when I was burying him."

Baekhyun was overcome with a mixture of confusion and horror. "What are you saying; you killed Jongdae? This isn't funny Chanyeol, that's a sick joke."

Chanyeol turned to look Baekhyun in the eyes, "I'm telling the truth. I killed him with my own hands and buried him."

Baekhyun's throat swelled with repulsion as he stood up, "Why would-- how could you? He was your friend!" He jerked his arm free when Chanyeol grabbed his wrist. "Don't touch me." He stepped back when Chanyeol attempted to get closer. "Stay away from me."

"Hyung, please," Chanyeol's heart thumped in his ears. "I'm sorry." Chanyeol was overcome with fear, 'Please don't go, don't leave me.'

"No!" Baekhyun shouted. "Sorry isn't going to bring him back."

"I love you."

Baekhyun slowly shook his head, hand on the door knob, "You don't know love, so don't say that to me." He left without another word, leaving Chanyeol alone in the bedroom.

Chanyeol didn't make an effort to follow after him. He simply stared at the open doorway, horrified by what the future would bring, the last few words said by Baekhyun replaying in his mind. To no one in particular he whispered, "What is love?"

'You destroyed two good friendships,' Jongdae thought to himself as he watched what took place in pity. He found Baekhyun on his knees outside about half a mile from Chanyeol's home crying on the sidewalk. "Baekhyun," Jongdae whispered, kneeling beside his friend. "I'm so sorry you have to go through all this, I'm truly sorry." How badly he ached to come in contact with another, to place his hands on Baekhyun's shoulders and tell him everything was going to be okay. What he would give or do to make Baekhyun smile again. 'Maybe it would have been better if Chanyeol kept quiet... but I couldn't bear to see them together, not after what he did.'

Baekhyun lifted his head, running the sleeve of his sweater against his cheeks to dry them; he regretfully thought to himself, 'I was aware of their feelings, but I didn't want to ruin our friendships.' Looking up at the dark sky sprinkled with small stars, Baekhyun inhaled deeply, eyes closed, 'What a fool I was.' After exhaling, he said, "Jongdae, I don't know what to do." He sighed heavily before adding, "I miss you."

Baekhyun made his way to the graveyard where he sat beside the tombstone marked with his friend's name. He gently the engraving of the name, closing his eyes and picturing his friend flying down from the clouds and sitting opposite of him. He saw Jongdae's smile, heard his voice and laughter, but he couldn't feel his touch. Baekhyun opened his eyes and cried.

Unable to cry alongside his friend, the ghost wanted to run away; he didn't want to watch his best friend cry alone at his grave, unable to comfort him. Jongdae reached out, his hand going through Baekhyun's, "Don't cry. If I could, I would take all your tears and cry for you... I love you."

Through his tears, Baekhyun swore he heard Jongdae's voice saying he loved him, but he was just wishing too hard. "I loved you too Jongdae," Baekhyun whispered inaudibly.

~~~

Summer was coming to an end; school was starting... without Kim Jongdae or Park Chanyeol. Baekhyun kept the death of his good friend in the back of his mind, slowly moving on, but it was difficult especially knowing who killed him. He walked alone to his first class, where in the opposite direction, Park Chanyeol was making his way over, but Baekhyun simply walked past him as if Chanyeol didn't even exist.

'He's going to ignore me until I confess my crime,' Chanyeol thought regretfully, watching Baekhyun from behind until he turned the corner and disappeared. Instead of going to class, Chanyeol left the school grounds and drove away.

Sitting in the passenger's seat, the ghost of Kim Jongdae crossed his arms, "Where are you going now? Class is about to start."

"I give up," Chanyeol replied, his voice hoarse, a tear trickling down a corner of his eye. "I can't live like this anymore... you win. Forgive me for everything I've done to you, what I've done to hurt you and Baekhyun. I should have checked to see if you were still alive, I was overcome with fear that I'd actually killed you and I panicked."

"Are you really going to confess to the murder?" the ghost asked, a tinge of disbelief in his voice. The two remained silent the rest of the way there.

With a shaky breath, Chanyeol cleared his throat and said, "I have a confession to make."

"What is it young man?" the man sitting behind the desk glanced up at the tall college student.

Jongdae floated beside Chanyeol, curious as to Chanyeol's will. The tall college student gave a sad wistful smile to the ghost, 'It's time you rested in peace, my friend.' A tear trickled down Jongdae's cheek as Chanyeol parted his lips and uttered his confession, "I killed my best friend because I was jealous."

The ghost vanished.